So after watching about ...um... probably 45 episodes or so of Naruto i've decided to post my thoughts on the series.
The main problem I have with the series is that almost every episode has a five minute recap showing what happened in the last episode(though that seems to have calmed down a bit now), pointlessly dragging out the series more than it needs to be. With every four or five episodes an entire episodes worth of time has been just wasted.
Another thing that was irritating was the constant showing of the scene but with semi transparent close ups of the characters heads layered over the top and if Adult Swim did one thing right it was to get rid of those stupid shock lines. I just see them as comedy after seeing Cromartie High. Everytime somebody says or does something 'shocking' they JUST HAVE TO show the expression of every single character that's around at the time.
Yet another problem is that the animation seemed very inconsistant with obvious attempts to save money for the 'main fight' rather than spreading the budget over the span of ... whatever episodes they get the budget for. The animation quality could go from movie standards to dirt and then back to being about what you'd expect from the average anime.
I guess the most damning thing would be that I didn't like a some of the main characters to begin with. Particually Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura did pretty much nothing but shout and cry throughout the entire first story arc and Sasuke is your annoying all growed up kid that does things like a big boy should and tries to act like a badass all the time(Though i've warmed to him slightly now). I think the first time Sakura did anything useful wasn't up until episode 25(that's about a whole standard series). I think Sasuke summed it up when he shouted "SAKURA! DO SOMETHING!" while he's pretty much being killed and she's just stood around shouting "SASUKE SASUKE!". Sakura is actually beginning to show signs of hope now though.
But away from the bad points of the series. Let's see why i'm still watching it if I have so many problems with it. Well for one it's a series you can just watch in the background. You don't have to think about what's going on a lot of the time and you'll still understand it. I do like some of the characters, thankfully one of them being the main character(Naruto, duh!), Kakashi and the connection between the 'bad guys' in the first arc(Haku and Zabuza) managed kept me interested and continue to watch. Rock Lee, a character I thought I was going to instantly hate has kinda surprised me. I actaully like him! Setting aside his funny for 5 minutes design he seems like a decent character. I'm liking Hinata and Shikamaru too. I hope they get some solid episodes based on them in the near future.
When the Churin exam arc started up my interest began to waver again but little things kept me watching and finally something really concrete seems to have kicked in with the arrival of Ochimaru(forgive me if I didn't get the name right).Again it's just managed to keep me watching as it was hanging by a thread.
Right now i'm at the part where they are battling against each other to see who will be in the final exam. the fights are a bit dragged out and I'm not holding them that high really but i'm hoping this Ochimaru guy will burst in and revive me again at some point within the next few episodes.
Overall it's a decent series in many ways. Fun at times, annoyingly cliche at others. Dragged out to the max but still entertaining. In the end it's just a good show to watch while I'm doing work on the PC. There are too many flaws for me to just sit down with the sole intention of just watching it though, I have to be doing something else while watching it.
I've probably forgot some things but meh there you have it. Naruto! In the eyes of your pal, WTFDaveMustaine.
The main problem I have with the series is that almost every episode has a five minute recap showing what happened in the last episode(though that seems to have calmed down a bit now), pointlessly dragging out the series more than it needs to be. With every four or five episodes an entire episodes worth of time has been just wasted.
Another thing that was irritating was the constant showing of the scene but with semi transparent close ups of the characters heads layered over the top and if Adult Swim did one thing right it was to get rid of those stupid shock lines. I just see them as comedy after seeing Cromartie High. Everytime somebody says or does something 'shocking' they JUST HAVE TO show the expression of every single character that's around at the time.
Yet another problem is that the animation seemed very inconsistant with obvious attempts to save money for the 'main fight' rather than spreading the budget over the span of ... whatever episodes they get the budget for. The animation quality could go from movie standards to dirt and then back to being about what you'd expect from the average anime.
I guess the most damning thing would be that I didn't like a some of the main characters to begin with. Particually Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura did pretty much nothing but shout and cry throughout the entire first story arc and Sasuke is your annoying all growed up kid that does things like a big boy should and tries to act like a badass all the time(Though i've warmed to him slightly now). I think the first time Sakura did anything useful wasn't up until episode 25(that's about a whole standard series). I think Sasuke summed it up when he shouted "SAKURA! DO SOMETHING!" while he's pretty much being killed and she's just stood around shouting "SASUKE SASUKE!". Sakura is actually beginning to show signs of hope now though.
But away from the bad points of the series. Let's see why i'm still watching it if I have so many problems with it. Well for one it's a series you can just watch in the background. You don't have to think about what's going on a lot of the time and you'll still understand it. I do like some of the characters, thankfully one of them being the main character(Naruto, duh!), Kakashi and the connection between the 'bad guys' in the first arc(Haku and Zabuza) managed kept me interested and continue to watch. Rock Lee, a character I thought I was going to instantly hate has kinda surprised me. I actaully like him! Setting aside his funny for 5 minutes design he seems like a decent character. I'm liking Hinata and Shikamaru too. I hope they get some solid episodes based on them in the near future.
When the Churin exam arc started up my interest began to waver again but little things kept me watching and finally something really concrete seems to have kicked in with the arrival of Ochimaru(forgive me if I didn't get the name right).Again it's just managed to keep me watching as it was hanging by a thread.
Right now i'm at the part where they are battling against each other to see who will be in the final exam. the fights are a bit dragged out and I'm not holding them that high really but i'm hoping this Ochimaru guy will burst in and revive me again at some point within the next few episodes.
Overall it's a decent series in many ways. Fun at times, annoyingly cliche at others. Dragged out to the max but still entertaining. In the end it's just a good show to watch while I'm doing work on the PC. There are too many flaws for me to just sit down with the sole intention of just watching it though, I have to be doing something else while watching it.
I've probably forgot some things but meh there you have it. Naruto! In the eyes of your pal, WTFDaveMustaine.
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